Unreal
by Rumiko Nadajima
Summary: Three boys. Three wishes. One shooting star. A chance encounter brings them all together on a journey to fulfil the legendary prophecy and ultimately, make their wishes come true. Warning: YaoiSlash Pairings. Chap 4 uploaded. Ongoing.
1. Chapter 1 So the story goes

Warning: Going to be lengthy. Miss a chapter and you'll be lost. Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Mr IT. The storyline is purely mine. Notes: Third time I'm redoing this. Rest assured, this will be the last time. I will have at least one chapter every fortnight(I hope) so you don't have to wait forever. 

Chapter One

tick, tick.

The needle of the metronome flicked back and forth. His hands moved across the keys. And he began to play.

tick, tick.

Concentrating hard, he produced line after line of beautiful music. Then, he abruptly stopped. He had turned to a blank page. Like always, he still didn't know how to continue it. To finish what he had by now dubbed the unfinished score.

tick, tick.

He slammed the file shut. Why bother finishing it, when the one he had written it for would probably never hear it? It didn't seem right to be sharing his gift with the whole world, when the recipient was lying in a hospital bed.

His fingers wandered over to the dark red metronome. They touched the familiar words engraved into the side. 'For Kenji, May you one day live your dream. From Toru' How many times had he gazed at these same words, only serving to remind him that Toru was now in a coma since two months ago?

Two months, he mused. The same amount of time since he had given up on music. Why bother, he asked himself again, when the only audience that really mattered couldn't enjoy it?

He was startled by the honking of a car. His eyes shot to the clock as he automatically reached for his jacket. 7 o'clock. About time to get going if he wanted to get to the hospital before they were closed to visitors. Rising from his seat, he couldn't help but look over at the framed picture of himself with Toru, receiving an award for a piece they had co-wrote.

His eyes tearing up, Fujima Kenji turned and left the house, slamming the door as he went. tick, tick.

The needle continued moving back and forth.

* * *

"Walk faster! I don't want to miss anything" A redhead complained, tugging along his breathless companion. Although in serious need of oxygen, Yohei still managed a chuckle. 

"Please don't tell me you actually believe in that load of crap" he smirked, amusement clearly evident on his face. Sakuragi glared at him. "Shut up! You should always trust what they say on the Astro Channel. If Ayako says that there will be a shooting star tonight, there will be a shooting star! You just wait and see" he replied stubbornly. He wasn't about to let anyone, not even his best friend, deter him from making a wish on the shooting star. Sure, it seemed doubtful at first, but what harm could it have? He had even prepared his wish well in advance. All he needed was for the star to show up.

Yohei smiled. "Sure, I'll believe it when I see it." He still wasn't sure why he had agreed to stake out the night with him just to see the star. if it would even appear in the first place.

Sakuragi marched off angrily towards the riverside. Someone please remind me why he's my best friend, he muttered under his breath. It was with a head full of murderous thoughts with which he tripped over. Flailing his arms around wildly, he fell forward. Fortunately, a pair of hands prevented him from slamming face first into the floor. The same pair of hands pulled him back up, and Sakuragi was suddenly face to face with their owner.

"Hi" greeted a cheery looking young man. "Are you okay" Sakuragi pulled himself out of the young man's grasp roughly. "I'm fine" he snapped. Backing away, he suddenly tripped over backwards this time. He was saved yet again, this time by Yohei Mito. "Urgh! You're heavy you know" exclaimed Yohei, grimacing under the weight of his friend who had succeeded in piling all of his weight onto him. Sakuragi flared. "What in the world do I keep tripping over" The stranger piped up.

"Oh, that's just my guy line." "Guy line" "Yup, you know, tent string. I'm staying here overnight if it means catching a sight of the shooting star."

Sakuragi was so delighted he forgot about wanting to kill the stranger for being the one who caused his falls. "See, Yohei? There are other people who believe it too" he triumphantly said. Yohei raised his eyebrows. "Yah, too bad there's so few of them" he replied, gesturing at the deserted riverside. Sakuragi turned his head away and ignored him.

The stranger grinned at this exchange. "I'm Sendoh Akira. Are you here to wait for the shooting star too" "Yup" Sakuragi replied. "I'm Sakuragi Hanamichi and this is Yohei Mito. Nice to meet you. Are you here alone" Sendoh nodded.

"I was, until you guys came along. I..." he was suddenly cut off by Yohei. Squinting at something in the distance, he whispered excitedly"Oh. My. Goodness. Fujima Kenji! Over there"

* * *

Fujima jerked his head up at the sound of his name. He cursed as his spotted a bunch of guys standing at the riverside. One of them was jumping and pointing at him excitedly. He couldn't afford to waste time with his fans now. He had totally forgotten that with his brown hair and blue eyes, he was easily recognisable in a single glance. 

Still, the ever obliging famous star didn't change his direction and he headed towards the group, a ready smile on his face. "Good evening. Pleasant night, isn't it"

The trio gawked at him. One of them was all starry-eyed. "Fujima! Hi! I'm Yohei Mito! I'm so honoured to meet you! I love your music" Fujima would sweatdrop if he was a cartoon, but as he wasn't, he just had to listen as Yohei enthused on and on about practically every one of Fujima's works.

"..but the one I absolutely love the most has got to be 'Timeless'" Yohei thought he saw Fujima flinch at the name of the recently critically acclaimed piece. "Erm" the star stammered, his smile wavering a little. "Thanks. I never thought that I would bump into such a..big fan of mine right here." He maintained his composure as he fought back the urge to cry. Why did he have to remind him of that song? Sakuragi cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are" the redhead deadpanned. Yohei stared at him. "How could you possibly not hear of Fujima Kenji, the famous pianist cum singer? His music is everywhere - in every music store, in ads, in malls, even elevator music! You can't seriously have never ever heard any of his songs before" Yohei was practically shouting all of this. Sakuragi merely blinked at Yohei and shook his head.

"Nope, never ever in my life." "Gyahhh! You need to stop spending so much time eating and sleeping and start paying attention to your surroundings"

"It doesn't really matter. I don't really like all the star treatment. Just treat me as a normal person." Fujima said softly. "Really? Wow. I never thought that a you would ever hate the limelight" Sendoh commented thoughtfully. "After all, you were always friendly with the paparazzi. You're practically the only big shot that has never turned down an interview." "Well, I make it a point to be polite. I don't consider myself as such a big shot, anyway."

"Speaking of which, you seem to have been avoiding the media these two months" Yohei pondered. "What's with this sudden change" Looking a bit uncomfortable, Fujima just mumbled a reply. "Well, things happen. Times change. I needed a break, that's all."

Sakuragi tapped his foot irately. "Hey, leave the man alone. Since he's your idol, shouldn't you be respecting his decisions instead of interrogating him? I - Damn it" Sakuragi cursed as his foot caught in the guy line again. Hopping around on one foot, he managed to stop himself from falling into the icy blue water by crashing into the rusty metal railing lining the bank. Sliding down to the ground, he was about to curse the man who invented tents when he saw it.

The shining light that crossed the dark night sky. The orb of radiance that held such promise. The shooting star.

Sendoh was dumbfounded. Like Sakuragi and Yohei, he had never seen a shooting star before. He was struck by the beauty of it all when he noticed that Fujima had his eyes squeezed shut. Doing the same, he couldn't help but feel excited at this new experience.

Opening his eyes, Fujima felt a tiny spark of hope. On impulse, he had wished on the star immediately when he had spotted it. Just as he had, with another wish, many years ago.

_Flashback_

Sitting on the wall of his house, a young boy, who looked like he couldn't have been more than 8 years of age, gazed intently at the night sky, a look of concentration etched deep onto his face.

Suddenly, a voice piped up from behind him. "Yo Kenji, whatcha doing" Shrieking, the small boy fell from his high perch and landed on the source of the voice. A tall, skinny little boy squirmed his way out from underneath him. "Ouch" Brushing himself off, he wiped a large pair of spectacles. "You look dumb sitting up there." "No, I don't! You need thicker glasses" Kenji shot back. Huffing, he turned his attention back to the vast night sky.

"For your information, Toru, I'm looking for a shooting star. But there doesn't seem to be any here." "Don't you know? Shooting stars are really rare. You have to be really lucky to see one. Besides, why do you want one for" "I want to make a wish and see if it comes true. That's what they say happens, anyway." "A wish? What wish? Tell me! I'm your best friend, remember" "Well..okay. I want to fly among the stars and see who lives up there. Maybe I can see the sandman and ask him to give me nice dreams."

At that precise moment, a streak of light shot overhead. Kenji saw Toru mumble something under his breath.

"What were you saying" "I was wishing on the star, too. I wished that you would get your wish fulfilled." "Oh, ok. Thanks." "No problem."

_End of Flashback_

"What do you mean you didn't see it" bellowed Sakuragi. "It's not my fault" protested Yohei, his head caught in a vicious headlock. "Well, it was there! So that means I was right and you owe me 10 bowls of ramen now" "What? No way! I didn't say I would do anything like that"

Sendoh just shrugged when Fujima looked towards him. "I think we should just leave them alone."

Turning away, Sendoh was about to get about unpitching his tent when something truly baffling happened then.

A sparkling mist had appeared before them. Dropping Yohei, Sakuragi backed away from it. It materialized to form several silhouettes. Sendoh thought he could just make out two human-like figures and a third smaller, undistinguishable one. As the mist faded away, he was able to make out the features of the figures. One was a well-built, tanned young man. The other had pale white skin and piercing blue eyes. He held a black-and-white furred rabbit in his left hand, while waving away the mist with the right. Sweeping his gaze over the four, he prodded the rabbit.

"Well, here we are. What are you waiting for? Next year? You know what to do. So go do it already"

With those words, the rabbit jumped from his arms and landed neatly in front of Yohei. Strangely, the boy didn't even blink. It was as though he was in a daze. The other stocky companion waved an arm at him. Almost mechanically, Yohei made his way into the tent. Sidestepping Sendoh, a loud snore was heard seconds later.

Then, the same white mist as before reappeared. This time, it extended its range to include the remaining three boys. Unable to move, they stood frozen as a blinding white light surged from the core of the cloud of mist. Several seconds later, their senses were entirely blocked out.

-to be continued-


	2. Chapter 2 Strangely so

Yaoi Pairings: Various.you'll see soon. Warning: Lengthy.and in case you missed it, YAOI! Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Mr IT. The storyline is purely mine. Notes: This chapter is dedicated to Mayumi and those who reviewed my previous chapter. Thanks to those who reviewed this on FFN! _teary-eyed_ I really appreciate it 

Chapter Two

The first thing that happened when they regained their senses was a very painful crash landing. Fortunately, the area was padded with thick green grass. Sitting up, Sendoh noticed that the pale skinned boy had already stood up and was in fact, standing at the edge of the greenery, talking to yet another stranger. There didn't seem to be any sign of the other muscular guy who had been at the riverside. This new arrival was acting very agitated and was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"What do you mean you've lost him!" "I can't help it if he's that dumb to disappear," he casually replied. "RUKAWA! I'm going to kill you!"

"Not before I do so first," interjected another voice. Sakuragi rose up. His words had a very dangerous edge to them. Stomping towards the one now identified as Rukawa, he grabbed hold of his shirt. "What did you just do to us? Where the hell are we?" Rukawa did not seem in the least bit threatened.

"Let go of my shirt, do'aho. You're spoiling it." "You dare call the tensai a do'aho! Now I'm REALLY going to kill you."

"Calm down, Sakuragi. I'm sure he'll explain it to us if you just let go of him," Sendoh said, venturing to stop the fuming redhead from causing any grievous hurt. Even the stranger who had been shouting minutes ago had unconsciously moved one step backwards at the very scary sight of the extremely furious boy. Rukawa snorted. "You wouldn't be able to kill me even if you tried, because technically, I'm not even alive."

"Huh?" Sakuragi said stupidly. Then the words sank deep into his head. "WHAT! Argh! I'm talking to a ghost!" He screamed. Releasing his hold on Rukawa, he hurriedly backed away from him. "And you" he cried, pointing a shaky finger at the other offensive boy. "You must be one too! Argh! Quick, run!" Turning around, Sakuragi tripped over his own feet and landed face first in the lush greenery. He lay there motionless, having passed out.

An awkward silence prevailed.

"Erm, can someone please tell me what's going on?" Sendoh asked weakly. He was utterly confused over the whole thing. Rukawa sighed and gestured towards his companion. "You explain." The stranger started.

"Er, hi. I'm Koshino Hiroaki. Are you Sendoh?" "Huh? Uh, that's right. Sendoh Akira. How did you know who I was?" "Well, I...erm..." Koshino trailed off, fumbling for an answer. "Because I told him that Sendoh was the cutest one," Rukawa answered in a monotone, a hint of a smirk creeping onto his face. Koshino turned a slight shade of pink. Sendoh blinked at this revelation. "He thinks I'm cute," he mused silently.

"That reminds me. RUKAWA! You moron! YOU LOST KURI!" Both boys flinched at the high pitched screech produced by the much smaller sized Koshino. Sakuragi regained consciousness, the scream still ringing in his ears. "Ouch." he groaned. "Who in the world is Kuri, anyway?" Rukawa sighed.

"He's that blasted fur ball." "Kuri is NOT a 'blasted fur ball'! He is a rabbit! And the only one who knows how to get to our locations, in case you forgot. Oh wait, I'm sure you did. Otherwise you would have held on to him and he would be right here, instead of, oh, let's say, somewhere in the middle of Japan!" Koshino said sarcastically. Sakuragi scratched his head.

"Why are you so bothered about a dumb animal? Shouldn't you be more bothered about where those other guys went?" Sakuragi asked rather bluntly. "Other.guys?" Koshino repeated slowly. Then realisation hit him.

"GYAH! FUJIMA!"

* * *

Fujima crash landed, just as the others had. The only difference was that there was nothing to cushion his fall. Instead, he found himself nursing a very painful butt as he tried to pick himself up from the hard cement floor. "Ouch." He winced. This proved rather difficult for him as he felt a sharp stinging sensation in his hands every time he tried to prop himself up. Raising his palms to his face, Fujima was shocked to find them bleeding. Now, how did that happen? He wondered to himself. 

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him. Peering upwards, he was startled to find another face looking down at him. This face was framed by brown hair which fell over his chiselled features. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, Fujima snapped back to reality.

Scrambling away, he ignored the pain as his hands left blood stains all over the grey stone. "You" he shouted. "You were at the riverside! You were with that other weird guy! You..." he stopped moving when he bumped into something.

"You forgot the rabbit too," the man said nonchalantly. A black and white furred rabbit hopped away from the terrified boy. Spinning around, he screamed. Of course, usually rabbits wouldn't induce people to scream, but when the rabbit had blood stained fur, you would be freaked out too. Blood? But that can only mean. Fujima glanced back at his hands. They had distinct teeth marks in them.

He did the only thing he could think of. And that was to scream even louder while trying to stamp on the poor mammal.

"Hey, stop that," the unidentified man scolded, although it didn't sound like he really meant it. He scooped the rabbit into his arms. "Much as I would like to kill him too, we need him." Fujima stopped screaming, if only because of sheer lack of breath.

"Why...in the world...would we...need...a...carnivorous rabbit..." he spluttered, coughing as he sought to place extra emphasis on the words 'carnivorous rabbit". Fujima swayed unsteadily while trying to stop his coughing fit. The other was alarmed and rushed forward to hold him. "Hey, calm down. He's not going to do anything to you. He was probably frightened and bit you by accident."

Fujima's coughing eventually subsided. "Who are you?" he enquired, looking up at the handsome tanned face that hovered above his. The stranger smiled. "I'm Maki Shinichi. I hope you're alright now." "Y-yes.I'll be fine," Fujima stammered in reply.

It was just at that moment that they both realised that Maki had been holding Fujima for several minutes longer than necessary. He immediately released him.

"Sorry" Maki mumbled in apology. His face was crossed with embarrassment for a split-second before it returned to the earlier look of composure. Fujima just smiled back. He didn't know why, but he wasn't afraid anymore. Instead, he was more interested about his current situation. "Where are we? How did we get here?" he questioned.

"Well" Maki began. "This place doesn't really have a name. We just call it the dream realm for convenience sake." He smirked. "As for the second question, it's quite obvious, isn't it? We transported you over. Although, it seems like we got separated from the rest during the transition."

"We? The rest?" Fujima repeated. He was confused. Maki sighed. He was beginning to understand why Rukawa did that all the time. "First we. Rukawa, the rabbit, me. Second we. Me, you. The rest. Rukawa, the redhead, the spiky haired guy." "Oh." Fujima felt his cheeks burn at asking such a dumb question. Then he remembered one more very important issue. "Hey wait, one more thing. What am I doing here?"

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to ask that. It's a long story." Maki said. He sat on the floor. Fujima followed suit. "As you know already, I'm Maki. The other boy who was with me is Rukawa Kaede. And this" he picked up the rabbit. "Is Kuri. Koshino named him. Koshino wasn't with us. He stayed back here. We are residents of this place, the so-called dream realm."

"So, what exactly is the dream realm?" Fujima asked. "It is a world, or to be more exact, a dimension. You...erm...You have to be kind of not existing on the earth to be here. At least, not in the state of your mind. Like Koshino. Or you could be like me, here all my life. Or," Maki took a deep breath. "You have to be dead. Like Rukawa."

"Not existing in the state of mind? DEAD!" Fujima was beginning to feel creeped out again. What in the world had he gotten himself into? "Could you explain what you mean by 'not existing in the state of your mind'?" he asked cautiously. Just when Maki was about to answer him, another voice interrupted him.

"He means like in a coma."

Fujima jumped at the voice. He turned to look at the newcomer. And received the biggest shock of his life.

"You...you..." Fujima was at a loss of words. "What's wrong? Can't you even recognise me? It hasn't been that long now," the source of the voice smiled. "Or has it, eh, Kenji-kun?"

That was it for Fujima Kenji. He collapsed into Maki's arms in a dead faint.

-to be continued-


	3. Chapter 3 Some explanations

Warning: Might be confusing at first Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Mr IT. The storyline is purely mine. 

( Notes: This is going to be an information-filled chapter, so be prepared. A lot of dialogue, so read closely or you'll be lost. Some of your confusion will be gone after this, but of course, I'll add new things for you to puzzle over .

Thanks to all my reviewers! This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers, especially PompousPrick, aka...decides not to say the ffn name just in case well, you know who you are.

If you ask, why is this chapter still as short as the others? The answer is well, deadline and the fact that I didn't want to throw too much information at you at one go. There's enough here to make you want to kill me already, I should think. )

Chapter Three

Fujima stirred. He could hear someone speaking in a hushed whisper.

"I think he's waking up."

He opened his eyes. Blinking them slowly, his vision cleared to reveal two faces hovering over his. One he identified as Maki's. Maki smiled at him. "Hi." Fujima managed a weak smile back.

It was then he realised who the other face belonged to. Jerking upright, he stared at him, still in a state of disbelief. Then slowly, he mouthed his name.

"Toru..."

* * *

"Dead." Sendoh whispered this word to himself. How could anyone be dead, yet still exist, to the point of even acting like a normal human being? Shaking his head, he asked Koshino"Wait, if Rukawa's dead, does that mean that you..." 

Koshino shook his head. "No, I'm not dead. I've been in a coma and this allows me to enter this world since my conscience is not exactly within my mind. However" he added"I cannot visit the living realm while here because my body still exists in its live state."

"So what does that have got to do with you? And what does that make you then? A zombie" Sakuragi asked, still suspicious of the stranger.

Koshino sighed. "Since my body exists, I have no physical self to use if I were to go back. I would revert to drifting in and out of consciousness as I lie on my bed. As for what I am, we have no name. Sometimes we are referred to as the Dream Weavers."

"Dream Weavers"

"That is correct." The icy tone of Rukawa's voice pierced their conversation.

Sakuragi stared at them, wide-eyed. "Hey, I think I heard of that before! Ayako from the Astro Channel mentioned this, about Dream Weavers being like a cross between the sandman and a dream catcher."

Rukawa snorted amusedly. "That's what we're compared to"

"Well, she is sort of right in a way" Koshino answered thoughtfully.

"What exactly is it that you people do" Sendoh was not quite sure if he was more or less confused than before.

"Generally, we are the deliverers of dreams. Dream Weavers only have to take care of dreams that contain messages of guidance."

"How" Sakuragi piped up. His interest in all things 'Astro' had made him forget about being afraid.

Koshino patiently explained. "We travel to your realm and deliver them. We have special abilities that enable us to do that."

"Special abilities"

Rukawa, who had been silent for a long while, suddenly spoke up. "Do'aho. Do you think we brought you here by plane? Obviously, there was a loophole which we created. You should know what a loophole is, after all, you spend so much time researching on magic and who-knows-what."

"Nani! You dare call me a do'aho"

In the midst of these events, Sendoh whispered to Koshino. "What's a loophole" Koshino whispered back. "It's something you create as a means of a 'bridge' or link between realms. It's like a transportation portal."

"I don't care if you're dead or half-dead or what, by the time I'm done with you, you'll wish you were never even born in the first place" An infuriated Sakuragi bellowed. With that death threat, he lunged at the blue- eyed boy. His hands closed around empty space where Rukawa had been mere seconds ago.

"Do'aho." A voice behind him breathed. Sakuragi spun around, to come face- to-face with none other then the frosty boy.

"Wha-what? You were standing there just seconds ago."

"I can teleport. Or, as you should know, it's more properly known as Drifting." Rukawa said in a rather matter-of-fact way.

Both Sendoh and Sakuragi were equally surprised, albeit for different reasons.

"How in the world did you do that" Sendoh spluttered. He had practically no knowledge to explain this strange phenomenon which had taken place before his very eyes. Koshino smiled.

"You sound just like me, when I first came here. I was shocked too, but you better get used to it. Rukawa's not the only one who has powers here."

On the other hand, Sakuragi had started screaming excitedly.

"That was so cool! Do it again"

Rukawa was however, not amused. "No."

"Please"

"No."

"PLEASE"

"Leave me alone."

* * *

Fujima was at a serious loss on deciding how to react to his current situation. Here he was, in another dimension, with a handsome stranger and his best friend, not to mention a carnivorous rabbit, with no damn idea of what he was doing here in the first place. There was a mild throbbing in his head. Raising his hands, he winced. 

"Don't move, you're hurt." Fujima felt himself being lifted onto a lap, than a comforting warmth envelope him. He leaned his head back, feeling a little more calm.

Hanagata Toru stroked the musician's brown locks. He had never imagined that he would be able to see Fujima again. After coming to this strange place, he had thrown his whole self into learning about this world. Not that it was very difficult, since he was quite brilliant at picking things up.

A chuckle startled them both. Maki was sitting nearby, watching them with a amused look on his face. He held the rabbit in the crook of his arm. It quivered and scrunched its nose up.

"Gosh, Specs, ever since you came, there seems to be no end to the fun around here"

"Specs" Fujima repeated, rising a questioning eyebrow at Hanagata. Hanagata sighed in resignation.

"He can't stop calling me that. He's never seen spectacles before, so he thinks it's very intriguing."

Fujima laughed. "Are you serious" He asked, directing his question to the well-built young man this time.

Maki grinned. "Yup. I've been here all my life. I never knew anything about the realm you come from until Koshino arrived and we started delivering dreams of guidance. Thanks to that, I visited your realm and learnt lots of new things, which Koshino helpfully explained to me. I never once saw anyone sleep with their spectacles on, so this is the first time I've actually seen them."

"Delivering dreams of guidance? What do you mean? Aren't all dreams meant to guide you" Fujima inquired, a frown marring his effeminate features.

"Not really. Most dreams are simply bizarre experiences. Some dreams, however, contain messages of guidance in them. It is these that we work with. We have to input the healing in the messages, then deliver them to the right recipients" Maki explained.

"What? Input healing? Whatever do you mean" Fujima asked, frowning even more deeply than before.

"Koshino has the ability to heal. He transfers his healing to the dreams, so that the dreamers will basically, if anything, feel better after waking up."

"Ah, I see" Fujima said. "But how about Toru? What is he doing here"

Hanagata interjected before Maki could speak. "They're training me to be a Dream Weaver too." He added quickly before Fujima could ask. " Dream Weavers are the titles given to Maki and the others."

Although more enlightened, Fujima suddenly remembered one more extremely important matter which he had been asking Maki before he had passed out.

"But what about me? And Sendoh and Sakuragi? What are we doing here"

Maki sighed. "Well, it's kind of hard to say this. We knew that we had to bring the three of you to this realm, but..."

"But what" Fujima urged.

"But the purpose for your being here, it...well..."

"Yes? What is it" Fujima very anxiously urged again.

"I don't know" came the quiet reply.

"WHAT! My purpose here is.." Fujima trailed off in disbelief.

"...unknown to us." Hanagata finished for him.

-to be continued-

(Author's Notes: Anyone has questions? I'll be happy to answer them. There's still a lot more left to be explained, as well as new revelations, in coming chapters of this story, so stay tuned!

I need your feedback! Is this chapter too confusing? Tell me so I can rewrite it better! Thanks to all who review!)


	4. Chapter 4 Unexpected

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Mr IT. The storyline is purely mine.

( Notes: Thank you all for waiting! This is dedicated to all my reviewers and readers, especially RetardedMaleBtch.

In case you missed it, this is YAOI.)

Chapter Four

Sakuragi had gotten tired of ranting at Rukawa and was now busy contemplating their current predicament, while Koshino had fallen asleep and was leaning on Sendoh. Sendoh was trying his best not to move. He found it very interesting to study the hot-tempered boy's adorable looks. Rukawa was spacing out. After all, this was the first peaceful moment he had ever since that noisy redhead and that permanently smiling spiky haired baka, who was currently drooling all over his fellow Dream Weaver, had set foot in their realm. He didn't want to sleep in case that hentai porcupine tried anything. Nothing but the gentle snores of Koshino filled the quiet air around them.

Of course, it was all to good to last.

"KOSHINO!" Koshino jerked straight awake at the sound – no, scratch that, BELLOW – of his name.

"What? What? Where's the fire?" He shrieked back while jumping up and brushing leaves and grass off him. Sendoh silently cursed the source of the sound for destroying the beautiful situation he was in.

Sakuragi tapped his foot impatiently. "I need to ask you something important."

"Well, then, what are you waiting for? Ask already!"

"I want to know why we're here," he deadpanned.

Koshino turned pale, and looked to Rukawa for help. Rukawa merely shrugged dismissively. Sakuragi glared suspiciously at them.

"Hey, what's going on? You weren't planning on killing us or anything, were you?" "No, no, no! Nothing of that sort!" Koshino quickly answered. He didn't know what to do. He wished there would be something, a sign, anything, that could help him decide.

Then, like an answer to a prayer, something came jumping out of the bushes and bowled him over.

"Ow!"

He rubbed his back and cracked an eye open to peer at the thing that had knocked him down.

"KURI!" An ear-splitting shriek ensued, followed by the vehement hugging of a bundle of fur.

"I'm never, never, NEVER going to let that stupid Rukawa do something to you again!"

Sendoh blinked. He recognised it as the rabbit that had been at the riverside. He watched as the animal turned all shades of blue at the shorter boy's show of affection.

"Er, I think it would like to breathe now, Koshino." "Huh? Oh!" He let go of Kuri, who spent the next few minutes wheezing on the floor.

And then, after giving a pointed look at Koshino, it ran.

"Hey, come back! You'll get lost again!"

Koshino was after the rabbit in a split second. As he disappeared into the deep forest, Rukawa jumped up to chase after him. He paused to glare at the two non-dream weavers. "Come on, what are you waiting for? If you want to stay here forever, then go ahead," he said, before resuming his chase.

The two looked at the fading figure of the passive boy. Then they looked at each other. "Think we should?" Sendoh asked. Sakuragi shrugged. "Beats hanging around for our deaths."

With that, they ran into the lush greenery, the path behind them swallowed up by the shadows.

* * *

Fujima sighed. Here he was, still with no idea what in the world he was here for. Here referring to this "Dream Realm". If Maki knew anything, he wasn't saying. Or maybe it was the truth. No one knew their purpose here. Except for the tanned one himself, of course. And Hanagata. Wait, that left only himself. 

Sigh.

He amused himself by gazing at the surroundings. Sure, they were pretty all right, but one had to have enough of trees, trees and more trees after a while. The others had gone silent, after Maki proclaimed that they should stay put, because Koshino and Rukawa would be looking for them. Ah yes, Koshino Hiroaki and Rukawa Kaede. The names of the other "Dream Weavers". Fujima was almost convinced he was dreaming himself, if not for the fact that blood in dreams did not usually dry and cause you to feel disgusted.

A sound caught his attention. Turning his head, he spotted two similar looking birds perched on a branch about an arm's length above him. He would have dismissed them completely, if not for the fact that the birds were of a peculiar purple hue. Great, if the people and the planet, or world, or whatever, wasn't strange enough already, the animals had to be mutated too. He grimly recalled the very eventful first encounter with the first non- human in this...place.

Turning his back on the feathered creatures, he suddenly felt very tired. Stretching, he proceeded to settle into a very comfortable sleep...

"LOOK OUT!"

Fujima suddenly found himself rolling across the ground. He painfully sat up. Looking up, he was gripped with horror.

Maki had a deep gash on his face. He grappled with a boy with long, messy black hair while Hanagata got knocked to the ground by another figure he couldn't quite make out the face of. The figure gazed hard at them, and with a steely voice, he –or was it a her? It?– spoke in a harsh whisper. "You'll pay for it. Pay the price for not giving us that body. Pay for it now – in blood!"

An angry roar was accompanied by a blur of motion. Suddenly, Fujima found it harder to breathe. It was as if some coldness had clamped a hand around him and was squeezing out his breath. His head was feeling lighter and lighter...

* * *

"Is it just me, or is it getting a little chilly?" 

Sendoh questioned uneasily. There was no sign of Koshino or the rabbit. However, there appeared to be a strange air about them. Like something really, really bad was about to happen. Very soon.

"I think I see something!"

Sakuragi was off and running before anyone could stop him. He was gone in an instance.

"Dammit!"

Rukawa cursed. Sendoh thought he noted a hint of panic in his voice. He just followed the Dream Weaver as he ran after the redhead, who whispered inaudibly to himself.

"This presence... again."

* * *

The cold sent a shudder through him, then released its grip, leaving Fujima sprawled on the grass. He shook his head, just barely able to make out a ball of white and black fur clinging onto the assailant. It was soon thrown to the ground with a fling of the arm, however, not before it had managed to leave a trail of damage on his arm. 

From behind the rabbit came Koshino.

"What the..."

It was all he could muster before the heavy form of Maki crashed into him.

Fujima stared at the wide-eyed look on Maki's face as he received the blast that sent him flying, numb with shock. Then, he started screaming.

"MAKI!"

He didn't notice the figure that advanced upon his back steadily. A scream of pain filled the air, and he spun around to find Hanagata impaled by a sharp weapon, held by a new assailant. This guy had sweet features and a smile that did nothing to betray the murderous intent he had. Withdrawing the weapon, he aimed it at Fujima.

"NO!"

A huge impact reverberated around him. A wave of heat hit him. He found himself to be surrounded a orange glow. To be exact, the glow was emanated by the trees. Which happened to be on fire.

The two attackers suddenly fell back, unsure of this new situation. Backing off, they transformed into birds and flew away. The two purple birds that Fujima had earlier thought to be so innocent.

Running towards the source of the noise and light, Sendoh and Rukawa made their way to the motionless figure on the edge of the clearing. It was Sakuragi, pale and withdrawn, lying on the ground where he had collapsed in a heap.

-to be continued-

Author's Notes: Er...oops? More things for you to puzzle over, eh heh heh... I seriously may not update this until December. I have the O's this year. . Please be patient! I promise, I'll work on this ASAP!

Expect even more action next chapter as new revelations are made. Will Koshino tell what he knows? Will Rukawa explain the presence? Do Fujima, Sakuragi and Sendoh finally get an inkling of their mission? Also, someone is going to die. Watch out for chapter 5 to find out!


End file.
